Students Go Home “Lighter” After Encountering God at Evergreen Spring Retreat

“I am going back home a lot lighter.”

That was how one student described leaving Evergreen Spring Retreat 2026, held at Camp Spofford in New Hampshire. Over the course of the weekend, students and leaders from across New England gathered to worship, pray, build friendships, and seek the Lord together.

This year’s Evergreen retreat brought together 165 total participants, including 19 volunteer staff members, with representation from 43 churches, 10 campus ministries, 26 colleges, and 8 high schools. Students came from different places, backgrounds, and ministry contexts, but they gathered around one shared prayer: “In New England, as it is in heaven!”

Throughout the weekend, that prayer became a visible cry of surrender. During response times, students flooded the front of the room, filling the altar area as they knelt, prayed, worshiped, and surrendered to the Lord. Another student shared, “During the retreat I felt God. I felt a weight lifted off my chest and shoulders… I left this weekend feeling more connected to God.”

The weekend was marked by worship, prayer, teaching, community, and joy. A diverse worship team made up of YEC, Crosswalk, Quest, and Mission Force alumni led students in meaningful times of praise. One of the most amazing things was the 7:00 AM optional morning prayer time which drew 65 students and leaders who chose to begin the day seeking the Lord together.

Breakout sessions invited students to go deeper in praying God’s promises, listening to the Lord, living strategically for the gospel, and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. One student said, “I really loved Dan’s breakout session on praying God’s promises and listening to the Lord! It was so refreshing to learn how to pray in such an intentional way.”

Evergreen also created space for students to build relationships across churches, campuses, and ministries. Affinity lunches helped students mix, mingle, and bond over shared passions. Playlist Wars, blacklight dodgeball, and other shared experiences brought laughter and connection. One student told Pastor Stephen Mook, “Even though I didn’t know anyone here, every time I talked to somebody, it felt like I had always known them.”

That sense of family became one of the clearest themes of the weekend. Students did not simply attend sessions; they experienced the goodness of belonging to the body of Christ. Churches and campus ministries that might not normally cross paths began connecting, encouraging one another, and even discussing ways to collaborate in outreach after the retreat.

One participant said, “Two of the things I loved the most about this weekend were the worship and seeing how students were leaning in to or desiring a relationship with Jesus through the worship, and the second thing I loved the most about this weekend was the amount of friendships and connections made that, in their due time, will flourish.”

Because of the generosity of churches and ministry partners, a total of 56 scholarships were used, including support for volunteer staff. Those gifts helped remove financial barriers so students could be present for a weekend of worship, prayer, and community.

As we celebrate what God did at Evergreen, we are praying that the fruit will continue far beyond one weekend. Our hope is that students would keep pressing in for more of God’s Word, more of His Spirit, more unity, more prayer, and more of the Evergreen life.

God is raising up students and young adults across New England who are hungry for Jesus, eager for community, and ready to live on mission, and we want to do our part. That’s why we’re excited to invite you to Momentum, the BCNE’s fall conference for college students and young adults, to help equip you for the mission of Jesus on your campus and in your church. Join us on October 2-3, 2026, at Tremont Temple Baptist Church in downtown Boston, for an impactful weekend of mission, friendship, service, worship and Bible teaching, as together, we continue to pray: “In New England, as it is in heaven!”